Lifeless Feathers
by Agent Beetle
Summary: What happened to Link's and Zelda's loftwings  Epona and Tetra when they lived on the surface. well here's their story from when the first left at the end of the game to years later. K  to be safe. beginning of chapter 2 at the bottom is a mistake ignore
1. Chapter 1 Aimless

Lifeless Feathers

A fan fiction of Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

By Agent Beetle

Chapter one Aimless

We flew into the sky, away from the reason we were created. Since Link and Zelda were going to stay on the surface they didn't need us anymore. No more flying them around island to island, no more delivering letters, and no more love. Link and I had a special bond. He was a special person and I'm a special bird, but that didn't seem to matter once he found Zelda. I just need to face it he loves her more than me. I just can't bear the thought of never seeing him again and what of the loftwing flying with me. Tetra must be twice as upset as me. At least I saw Link when he was looking for Zelda. She didn't see her rider until a minute ago and now she won't see her again. Loftwings were made to be ridden by the people of Skyloft and if we're not needed anymore where will we go. It's just Tetra and I with no places to go and no people to see.

We could find some other humans to be our riders. No, even though he dropped me Link is still my one and only rider. Maybe we could go the loftwing skies. The place where loftwings are born, learn to fly, and those who don't get riders live their life. Yeah, I think that's where we'll go. Loftwing skies are just above the Skyloft skies. We could live just above wear Link and Zelda would live, so that one day if it comes when they call us we can hear it. Listen to me, abandoned by my rider and thinking about the day when he calls me again, a day that will never come. He doesn't need me I know that, but I still hope. What a waste of time, worrying myself by hoping for the hopeless

As Tetra and I flew above the cloud barrier, a disobedience of the Goddess I'd become use to since Link started his journey, we were attacked by two octorocks. Easily I dodged the rock one of them spit and spun charged my foe, a trick Link taught me. I looked back and saw Tetra having trouble landing a hit. I didn't help her. If we were to live on our own she needed to learn to protect herself. She took a hit to the leg and instinctively I dove in and finished the bugger. She could still fly. She would learn another time. We landed on the rock the octorocks were on. We sat for a minute and then started at each other.

I started "so where do think we should go now that we're not needed" I realized that sounded mean, but she didn't mind. She was thought about it in the same way.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking about it" she replied in a lifeless, dull voice.

"I was thinking we head up to the loftwing skies above Link and Zelda, to be uh… to be close to them. If you want?" I said having a hard time wording the things I had been thinking so they made sense when said out loud.

"To be close to them?" she said half confused, half angered.

"Yeah well uh… they may not want us but I-I still want to be near him. You know just in case. I know it sounds idiotic "just in case" yeah right but I can't help but hope." I sputtered the words out. She seemed to get what I was desperately trying to say that or she saw me get defensive and guessed it wasn't what she implied. Either way she let it go. "So what do you think?"

"sounds alright I guess" at this point she finally noticed she was being difficult and though she was even more depressed than me she brightened up and gave me something to work with, "listen we're both hurt right now why don't we take the night to sort things out in our heads and make plans tomorrow?"

"If you need it then ok, but we better find a bigger island for the night, so we don't have to be so close" I offered the idea more confidently. Tetra needed a strong wing to help her now and on the rock we were wing to wing just to fit on it.

We did find a small island with nice soft grass. Though we found it so we didn't have to get stuck close together, like on the rock where we fought the octorocks, we ended up sleeping leaning on each other.

Chapter two

The next day I woke up to a screening in my ear. Tetra had gotten up first and decided not to wait for me. Slowly I rose to my talons and shook the sleepiness out of me, now time for breakfast. I stretched my wings and took off. Tetra was right next to me. We


	2. Chapter 2 Creeping

Chapter two Creeping

The next day I woke up to a screening in my ear. Tetra had gotten up first and decided not to wait for me. Slowly I rose to my talons and shook the sleepiness out of me. I stretched my wings and took off. Tetra was right next to me looking a bit discouraged, but I expected as much. We flapped our wings getting higher and higher. We reached heights no loftwing with a rider could ever reach. We past cloud after cloud till we couldn't see the small island we slept on. There was only one way to look, up and up is where we saw Loftwing skies.

It was filled with small platforms of ground to rest from flying, which is what most loftwings were doing. We landed on one and looked around. This would be a new beginning for us. We could forget about being abandoned and live our lives however we please.

As I though this a bright green loftwing came down to us. She screeched. Then she said "I'm Alex. I look over Loftwing Skies and make sure there are no conflicts. I would like to welcome you two but I regrettably do not know your names"

"I am Tetra and this is my friend Epona. Our riders have decided to live of the surface and are in no more need of us." Tetra spoke confidently at first but wilted as she spoke of our situation.

"Ah, I understand. This is becoming a recurring problem since the cloud barrier was broken, but I'm sure you can live here peacefully." She spoke rather jolly for such a depressing topic, "Personally I never had a rider. I have lived here since I was born. I find no sadness in this. I enjoy my life and I hope you will too. Now I don't want to be bothersome so I'll take off. Goodbye"

"Nice lady, but I little too happy." I said after she had gone.

"I suppose" Tetra answered half-heartedly, "I don't know if we should be here."

I turned to her "Why not? This the perfect place for us, Full of our own kind. We can do whatever we want with no one to please."

"Yes, but I don't want to be one of them. Every loftwing here is sad. Why? Because something happened to all of them. Maybe they were abandoned or their rider died or maybe they never had one, but the fact remains loftwings belong with humans. It why we were creative and we are special birds for special people" she began to tear up.

"They don't need us anymore. We may be special but they don't care. The quest is over, the job is finished. They don't need to fly anymore." I was fighting tears and fighting Tetra, both battles I couldn't win. "When did you change sides? You got mad at me just the other day for suggesting we be close to them."

"I changed sides when I thought about what we'll do here. We have no purpose here, or anywhere. I just feel like this isn't going to help us." Tetra was crying now. The sadness of the situation had been creeping up on us since we left our riders at the statue, but now it was plain. There was nothing for us to do to help us. We were to be unimportant and purposeless from now on.

"Nothing is anymore. Without riders we aren't important anymore. So why does it matter where we go and what we do." I said. She turned and flew away. I dropped my head. The last thing I saw of her was her tears on the ground. I thought about following her, but as I said what does it matter what we do. She just needed to think it over, I hope. I looked around again. I began to agree with her. The goddess created us as travel for humans and if there are no humans here then everyone must be sad. Alex is lying. She is sad. I could see it in her eyes, a longing for the purpose of so many loftwings and for someone to love her. Even if Tetra doesn't want it we are one of them, sad with nowhere to go.

I'll wait here for her. She'll come back reventually. Once she relizes we belong here now.


	3. Chapter 3 Pumkin

Chapter Three Pumkins

I waited for hours. After a while I got hungry. I flew around till I found an island with a couple loftwings on it. I landed and asked them where the food was. They told me it was a little ways to my right, so flew to my right for a ways. Eventually I found it, yet another island this one bigger than the others. It was filled with flowers and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. I landed near a rather larger pumpkin, made sure it wasn't already eaten or someone else had claimed it, and chowed down. It was a little bitter but still good. As I ate I looked around. Not too far away was Tetra eating a pumpkin too. She finished 'and was about to fly away.

"TETRA WAIT" I yelled. She looked around till she saw me. She walked over.

"Yes?" she said with a bit of attitude. Obviously she was still mad.

"So um… where did you go when you left?" I stuttered the first thing that came to mind.

"Nowhere" she replied dully.

"Listen I see what you meant. I know we belong with riders and everyone here is sad because they aren't, but where else are we to go?" I tried to sound sentimental, but she was too angry to care.

She sighed "I don't know. I just wish we didn't have to leave. I miss Zelda and nothing can replace her in my heart."

"I know how you feel, but we can't change their decision, we can only deal with it" I spoke softly. I wrapped my wings around her as she started to cry again. "We can do good things here. We could live easy lives of comfort. This is where we belong now."


	4. Chapter 4 Listening

Chapter four Listening

Tetra and I stayed in loftwing skies for many years. We became even better friends, but for all those years the sadness never left my mind. We were abandoned by our riders. The thought haunted me. I missed Link and I knew Tetra missed Zelda, but there was still nothing we could do. I wondered how they were doing. I wondered if they ever fell in love or if they were even still together. One than once did I think of going down and checking on them, but I didn't. often I would listen for Link's whistle, ready to leap to come and catch him, but it never came. They didn't need us. The fact was still true.

One day Tetra left. She didn't want the calm life of loftwing skies. She needed something to tell her was important. I don't know where she went or if she found it. The only thing I remember about her are I few memories and the picture of her tears on the ground as she left.

All I did anymore was fly around the clouds, looking for Tetra, listening for the whistle. It was sad really. Without my rider my life went to waste.

One day. I thought I heard it. I was flying after just eating a flower. A quiet whisper that sounded like Link's whistle. I flew lower to hear better. I didn't hear it for a while. I cried and started to fly back up, but I was wrong. I had heard it before I could reach the clouds to where I couldn't have been able to, I heard it again. It was louder. I was sure it was him. Quickly I dove down, straight down. I had lived over the break in the cloud barrier where I left Link for years. I fell through the clouds to the loftwing skies, through the cloud barrier, and stopped, listening for it again so I could find him. I heard it again. I flew in its direction as fast as I could. I went past tree after tree until… I saw him. I landed next to him. He hugged me. He looked exactly the same. I looked over and there was Zelda hugging Tetra, who had tears in her eyes. Link mounted me and Zelda Tetra and off we flew. I had no idea where he was leading me, but I didn't care in the slightest.


End file.
